Thursday, 5 July 2012

That's curious

You may have missed me. I've been very quiet the last few days and it may/may not surprise you to know I've been pondering stuff. This isn't going to make any sense and who knows where it's going.

I've been thinking about knowledge, natural philosophy, language, secrets of the universe, what is dark matter/energy, where do socks go, how fish make perfect concentric rings and why ducks don't... and that ultimate question; what is the magic ingredient of soup? These are all very important questions and it's because of a book. Oh and an opera, a lecture, seminars, and a science museum exhibition.

But mostly this book. I'm reading about curiosity and experimentation, basically 'how science became interested in everything'.

The image I'm currently carrying around with me is that of Cesare Ripa's 'Curiosita' and he depicts her as 'a wild dishevelled woman. I can identify with this, as my lovely flatmate can testify - in the morning my hair can be positively medusan and as for my wings, the less said about the better.

The caption accompanying the image in his Iconologia is 'curiosity is the unbridled desire of those to seek to know more than they should'. Putting aside 'unbridled desire' (we can try), as the woman in the picture, I would wear this badge with pride as it's a professional requirement for a librarian/researcher. As for the outfit, I'll see if I can get away with the creatures attached to duvet look in the office. Even I might draw the eccentricity line there.

Curiosity is why I found myself this evening lost on the number 8 bus whizzing down a dual carriageway to the end of the line; it's why I spend all my money on books and cocktails; it's why I always look in bathroom cabinets; why I always watch beetles as they climb to the top of a blade of grass; why I always look to see what books fellow passengers are reading; and why I immediately thought about a great philosopher's words;

This was never the way I planned, not my intentionI got so brave, drink in hand, lost my discretionIt's not what I'm used to, just wanna try you onI'm curious for you caught my attention

And it's also why I added bacon to my flatmate's amazing veggie and barley soup. If only other 'life, the universe and everything' questions were as easy to answer; bacon is always the magic ingredient in soup.

Oh and curiosity never did kill the cat and elephants definitely aren't scared of mice.